Rosé On Ice? Why Not, According to These French Winemakers

When it comes to wine, the rules of service have always been very rigid.

With the knowledge that temperature and other elements interrupt the structure of wine, it has always been drunk according to certain specifications—at a precise temperature, with particular glassware.

But lately, the rules have been bent, paving a new way that may change the way we drink wine forever.

This summer, just as Rosé sales are soaring, French winemaker Mouton Cadet has given the green light on serving Rosé with a couple of ice cubes, a departure from the traditional way of being served already chilled.

The Bordeaux-based winemakers have concocted a unique blend that retains its sweetness even as the ice settles down and melts, without tasting diluted. The pale candy pink ICE Rosé Signe wine beckons to be nursed poolside, where the translucent bottle sits next to an ice bucket. With this season's rising temperatures, this ice-cold development comes at the best time.

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The refreshing take on this fruity wine boasting of raspberry notes and a bouquet of strawberry and redcurrant aromas makes it a suitable accompaniment to any social gathering in any season. Winemakers are convinced that the ice trend is here to stay and may only evolve further.

This isn’t the most exciting news coming from the house of Mouton Cadet, however. In 2015, the third generation of winemakers descended from the line of creator Baron Philippe de Rothschild took the reins of the family business. Three siblings, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild, and Julien de Rothschild plan to take their grandfather’s once-humble wine brand into the future, starting with the introduction of its first 2015 vintage.

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Mouton Cadet Rouge featuring the new label

The new line of Mouton Cadet wines evokes a distinct roundness and freshness—traits only possible from a source of crisper and purer fruit. “The sheer extent of the Bordeaux vineyard means that we can choose the best,” Mouton Cadet master winemaker Pierre Lambert says. As of today, the Mouton Cadet Rouge is available in the Philippines, while the Mouton Cadet Blanc and Mouton Cadet Rosé have yet to hit the local market.

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Mouton Cadet Blanc

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Mouton Cadet Rosé

With this new step for the 90-year-old brand came a change in its branding. The new label bears a modernized logo and more elegant packaging, with colored curls at the top left corner, representing the grapes harvested to produce the new bottles.

As per the source, Mouton Cadet continues its pursuit of excellence by contracting the help of its partner winegrowers, which each produces grapes according to the brand’s exact specifications. The fruits are harvested only once they’ve reached full maturity since this is when the best aromas and flavors are expressed through the wine.

This new generation, as well as the fall of other wine taboos, signals the maturation of French wineries, which are finally breaking from tradition.

Mouton Cadet is available at Titania Wines Cellar, Power Plant Mall, Makati

Hannah is a communications graduate from Ateneo de Manila University. She’s originally from Pampanga and from a big, close-knit family who likes to find a reason to get together at the dinner table. Experiences inspire her. “Once, at a restaurant, I received an interpretation of my second name ‘Celina,’ and it meant 'someone who tries everything once' and that is me through and through,” she says. As for the job, she wants her “readers to be inspired by the stories of the people we feature and to move them to reach for greater things.”